Compressor



Nov. 2o, 1928; 1,692,395

J. R. THOMAS COMPRESSOR Original Filed June 8. 1922 j 6l 6g 76 6I f@ a H l g 75 a a 67k .5 65W.; 65 1,0 J J5 Jail I 'j Z 7 W/TNESS yg M www HTTOYNEYJ ,JW/@m5221321 Patented Nov. 20, 1928.

STATESA :PATENT ori-tics..k

JOSEPH. R- THOMAS. 0F PHILADELPHIa, Penisnvelvm, Assistme, BY MESNE.. AS-

sIeNMENTs, To Winnen conrnnsson,

. `A,.consonaTron or DELAWARE.

IN 0F PHILeDaLPaIe, triiiasrrgmnm,

coMrREsson.

Application ned June s, i922, serial Mr y invention relates to compressors or the like, particularly those. intended for effecting compression of the refrigerant in refrigerating units for household and other similar purposes as distinguished from large refrigeiating` installations employed in commercial Vrefrigeration inthe manufacture of artificial ice, and is more especially adapted and intended for use in a compressor of the general type forming' the subject of an application for Letters Patent of the United States filed jointly by Arthur D. Shaw and myself on April 1st, 1922, Serial No. 552,511, now Patent #1,508,805, Sept. 16, 1921i, the invention in some respects constituting` an improvement upon the said compressor forming the subject of said application.

It has been found that in these small high speen compressors it is desirable to avoid'the use of inlet and exhaust valves7 and a. principal object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a compressor entirely devoid of such valves and so arrangedv that the admission and exhaust of the fluid which is being acted upon is effected by and in correspondence with the movement of the piston, as dist-inguished from the employement of separate inlet and exhaust valves for this purpose.

A further object of my invention is to 'provide in a compressor, a piston of relatively greatlength whereby the thrust on thecylinder, induced by the angularity of the. connecting rod, is distributed over a large area and its tendency to force the piston from proper alignment neutralized to a great extent.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a relief valve of novel construction whereby any liquid which may collect in the cylinder and on the top of the piston may pass out of the cylinder without causing` any damage or, in the alternative, the stoppage of the compressor, either of which effects might otherwise occur upon the accumulation of relatively non-compressible. liquid in the cylinder sullicient to completely fill the very slight clearance space between the end thereof and the adj acent portion of the piston when the latter is approaching or at the end of the compression stroke.

My invention also contemplates the provision of novel mea-ns for effecting'a connection between the upper or wrist pin end -of the connectingrod of the compressor and the piston which is actuated thereby, said means be- No. 566,267. `ReneweduApri1 13, 1928,

nection with the drawing forming a part hereof.

As hitherto st-ated, the invention 'is par.- ticularly adapted for use in a compressor of the general type forming` the subject of the said application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 552,511, and I have inthe accompanyingI drawing, therefore,.shown a preferred form of the invention asapplied .to one end of such a compressor, but as the latter is fully described and illustratedin said application 'reference will herein be made onlyto such parts thereof as are requisite to an adequate comprehension of the. present invent-ion'.

f In the saiddrawing, 1 is a vertical central section through a cylinder and certa-in of the adjacent parts of a compressor embodying' my invention, portions of v.certain of .the elements being shown in elevation g' Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the piston removed. from the cylinder; Fig. 3 is afragmently horiZontalsect-ion through the relief valve isf and its adjacent bushingfand Fig. .4l is a h'or- Zont-a'l section on line 1 -.A in Fig.. 1 looking* in the direction of the arrows. Lillie numerals are used to designate the same. parts in the several figures.

f Inithe form of the invention illustrated, the cylinder block 2,' which. may be provided with 'radiating flanges Bis formed integrally with a housingr 5 which, in. turn, may be connectcd with the field ring of the driving motor more .fully `explained in said application Serial No.- 552.511. .Theihousingis provided with a partition .6 Which forms one end of the crank case 7, the 4other .end ofv which is initially left open and adapted to be'operativelyclosed by a cover plate 8 held in position by bolts or. screws 9. The partition 6 is provided ,with aniuwl'rdly loo Cal

directed annular cup l() in which is seated a ball bearing, generally designated as l2, which is preferably of va well known selfaligning type and which serves to support the armature shaft- 13 of the motor. A fly wheel le and crank pin l5 are arranged to rotate with this shaft, the crank pin being arranged to support an annular ball bearing, generally designated as 16,which, in turn, is supported` ing rodinay be of any desired form suitable` for effecting the intended function.

The cylinder block 2 is internally cored so as to provide a chamber l? disposed between the upper and lower extremities of the block, an inwardly directed annular flange 2O Vbeing arranged at the upper end of the chamber and a substantially similar flange 2l at its lower extremity,y the inner annular faces of these flanges being arranged to engage and laterally support a cylinder sleeve 23, the 1nterior of which forms'the compression cylinder in which the piston s'arrang'edfor reciprocation.

The cylinder sleeve extends upwardly for a suitable distance beyond the extremity of the cylinder block to form a portion 23 which terminates in an outwardly directed vflange 24, and is also provided at a suitable point between its upper 'and'v lower extremities with an annular, outwardly directed supporting flange 27 which extends over the upper end of the cylinder block and is provided with a plurality of holes for the passage of a correspending numberof cap screws 28 which extend down into suitably threaded' holes in the cylinder block and by means of which the supporting flange, and in tnrn the cylinder sleevais secured in operative position there on. Preferably, the upper inner corner of the flange Q0 may be recessed or chamfered as at 29 to provide aseat for a thin gasket 30, and a corresponding.annular lug 3l formed :in the corner between the under surface of the support-ing flange 27 and the exterior of theV cylinder sleeve in such manner that when the cap screws 28 .are drawn up the gasket will be compressed so as to prevent any leakage from the chamber 417.

tion.

Leaaaee ly and outwardly as clearly shown in F ig. 2.

rlhe exterior surface of the piston, that is,

the exterior surface of the skirt 37 as well as the guide skirt 39, is provided with a plurality of vertically spaced peripheral oil grooves 4l() which, in operation, collect and retain a suitable lubricant which is introduced into the crankcase and which mixes in finely divided forni with the fluid passing into the cylinder prior to compression as hereinafter more fully described, thereby insuring constant and adequate lubrication of` the cylinder sleeve wall.

As it is desirable, particularly in view of the relatively high speed at which coinpressors of this type are ordinarily operated, to insurey perfect alignment of the parts and prevent any binding or undue friction between the relatively moving surfaces, I prefer to effect the connection between the connecting rod and the piston in a manner suit-V able for affording a universal movement to the connecting rod at the upper or vwrist pin end, and additionally adapted to secure a very line adjustment between the connecting rod and the piston so as to eliminate any lost motion between the parte with consequent knocking or pounding when in opera- For this purpose I preferably provide the upper end of the connecting rod with a ball Ll2 of suitable size which may be secured to the rod in any suitable manner, conveniently by screwing the ball on the threaded Vend of thev rod and securing it in place with a pin 43. The upper part of this ball is adapted to rest against a correspondingly curved, cup-shaped surface est formed cen` trally of the piston beneath the head 36 while theflnwer portion of the ball is arranged to rest in a cup-shaped annular washer l5 of suitable thickness provided with an opening in its lower face for the passage of the rod,

this opening being. of considerably greater diameter than the upper end of the rod, this washer, as well as `the castellated nut hereina-fter referred to, being assembled on the connecting rod prior to the positioning of the ball thereon. Preferably, also, the ball is made of relatively great diameter so as to afford a maximum amount of bearing surface.

Suitable means are provided for holding` the cup-shaped washer in engagement with the ball il2 and in turn, the ball in engagement with the cup-shaped surface lll of the piston, and conveniently for this purpose the interior of the Vpiston beneath said surface is suitably threaded as at 50 and a castellated lll) nut 51, threaded on its. exterior in .correspondence with' they threads in the piston and havinga central ybore 53 of sufficient size to take care of the ang'ularity of the rod, is screwed into the piston for a sulicient distance to bring. the washer 45 up' against the ball and the ball against the surface 44. To prevent the knut from backing off-after the parts have been suitablyadjusted, a small set screw may be'` inserted in-to one of a plurality of. suitable internally threaded openings 56' disposed at intervals in the piston skirt for a sufficient distanceftoypermit the point-of the screw to extend finto one of the radial cuts or grooves k58 formed' in the lower end of the castellated nut, thus holding the latter securely i-n adjusted position.

In order to permit a very fine adjustment between the parts, I? preferably usey thread of relatively fine pitch and provide' the piston ski-rt with Several openings7- for example as shown in the drawing, and the. nuty with a plurality of grooves,` for example 8, symmetrically disposed with respectA to' each oth-erso, that al very slight rotative movement of the'nut is suici'ent to bring some one of its grooves intoregistration with some one of the openingsinpthe piston skirt so as to permit vthe insertion of the set screw; thus the washer may be readily brought to a position to` sr'ibstantial'ly eliminate lost mo.- tion between the connecting rodand the pis'- ton yet permitting entire freedom of movement between these parts;l Itw'ill be observed: that by reason *ofi the materially.

greater diameter of the opening in 'the lower face of the 'washer a-nd inV thenut tha-n tlre diameter of the connectingy Vrod adjacent thereto, the latterV is entirely free to assume any position of angularity induced by the movementv of` the crank piny without coming into Contact either with the nutor with the washer, and further that by reason of the vuniversal movement of which the upper end of the connecting rod is cafpablewith respect Ato the piston,f any Aslight disalignment between the moving parts is compensated for .and taken care of and such friction ore-bind;-

ing= asl might otherwise ensue therefrom is eliminated. f

'1330. insure thorough. and, adequate lubrication of the ball, the piston head maybe provided with a small. oil hole-57 through which a' certain. amount ofthe lubricant which is suspended inV the fluid undercompression indsits way tothe surface of the" ball, while additionallythe splash from: the'fcr'ank case also passes to the ball through the openings in the washer 45 and inthe castella'tedlnut.

The cylinder head by means off which the upper end of the cylinder sleeve is operatively Closed` comprises*y an annular flange 6()- driflled forftherec'epti'on of. cap" screws y61 extending into suitably threaded holesinrv fthev flange v24k-.and by means of whieh-thehezul may befsecuredifn position thereonpand a depending annular tlange or plug-.likeuportion 62 which extends' downl intok the ysleeve and terminates aty apoint` therein adjacent the surface 36 of the piston headnwhen the piston is at thelimitofits upward stroke, the exterior surfaceofthe plug-like portion beingspacledfrom the interior of the cylinder sleeve and preferably tapered inwardly and downwardly in correspondence 4with the taper of--theinterior ofthe piston guide skirt so that the latter on the rip-stroke of the piston. will enter the space between. the interior of the sleeve and the exterior of the headaaid at the terlnnination` of said stroke substantially lill the same. j I

For permitting the passage of the Huid which` is to be compressed from the crank ease 7' to the chamber 17 andfrom thence to the interior of the cylinder sleeve, the flange 2l is provided with a plurality of ports 65jand th'e cylinder sleeve with a plurality of spaced portsl 66, extending from the chamber to an annular groovel 67 Lformed on the interiorof the sleeve adjacent the position.whchtlre upper surface of the piston head assumes at the lower end of thepistontravel, the piston being correspondingly provided with a: plurality of spaced ports 68,in the guidev skirt 39and just abovev the piston head and eX- tending entirely nthrough the skirt,l the arrangement being suchthat Whenthe piston is at the loijverjend of its travel a free passage is provided. for the fluid from the crank case tothe interiorof thepiston gu-ide skirt just abovey thesurface of the piston head, l

The exhaust of-Jthe compressed fluid1 from the cylinder iseffected through-.the ports 68 and an annular' groove 69 formed in the cyl'- -i-nderl sleeve atapoint; to register with said portsl at lthe upper end yof the piston stroke, one or more exhaust passages 70 communicating-A with Ithis ygroove and in turn with'the exhaust pipe 71 which is conveniently threaded into alug 72 formed on the exterior of. the cylinder sleeve-adjacent the iange 2T. Mea-ns are also provided for permitting the escape from above the cylinder hea'dof any substantially non-compressible liquid which lmay gather in the cylinder` through condensation or otherwise and which, in the absence of such meanannFg-ht till the space' a'bove the ,piston head priorto the registration of ports I 68y withfthe exhaust groove 59 and thus result A either in thefstoppage of-the' compressor or damage to the parts thereof. i InV` the pre-v ferred embodiment ofthe invention andas shown the' saidmeans-comprse a` relief valve 75 which is containedin a relief valve4 bushing-7G positioned intheinterior of the cylinder head'E which-is suitably boredfout or made' hollow for that purposeythe lower end of thisbushing being y threadedvon otherw ise secured in the lofwerjend of vthe head and .lf

conveniently yextending therethrough to terminate fiush with the lower face thereof. Thisbushing is hollow and contains the relief valve which may be of any suitableform, that shown comprising -a head at its lower end and an upwardly extending stem 78, the lower face of the head being cooperative with a seat formed at the lower end of the bushingand adapted to normally close a small port formed at the center of the seat. To provide a'suitable clearancebetw-een the head and the adjacent bushing, I preferv to form the head so as to present a-square, horizontal section of such size that the corners will engage the wall of the bushing to guide the head therein as best shown in Fig. 3, while the flat faces of the head are spaced therefrom.

Means are provided for normally holding the valve in position to close this port, said means conveniently comprising a spring 7 9 coiled about the stem 7 8 and compressed between an annular adjusting nut 80`threaded intoV the upper end of the bushing and a shoulder formed on the upper endof thehead. t will be understood that this spring is normallyadjusted so as to exert sufficient pressure on the valve to hold it on `its seat in opposition to the normal maximum pressure developed in the cylinder, butthat if from an accumulation of liquid within the cylinder or fromV any other cause the pressure therein should rise unduly the valve will be lifted from its seat against the force ofthe spring and the excess pressure relieved. If desired a pipe 82 may be threaded into the upper end of the bushing and connected to the exhaust pipe so as to equalize the pressure above the relief valve and within-the cylinder. It is thought thaty theoperation of thedevice, the various parts having been constructed and assembled substantially as described, will be readily comprehended without extended description, it being sufficient to say that the iiuid which is to be compressed passes from the crank case 7 through the chamber 17 and into the space above the picton head through the port-S68 when the latter come into registration with the groove, 67, after which the initial upward movement of the piston carries the ports out of alignment with the groove and prevents the further entrance of fluid.l The continuing upstroke of the piston then effects the compression of the fiuid until the ports 68 come into registration with the exhaust groove 69 to thereby permit the compressed fluid to'escape through the passage or passages 70 communieating with the exhaust pipe, the relief valve 7 5 under these conditions remaining continuously closed. In case, however', of an accumulation of liquid above the piston head sufficient in quantity to entirely fillthe cylinder as the piston approaches the end of its stroke but before the registration of the ports with the exhaust groove, the relief valve will open toV permit the lescape of a sufficient quantity of the liquid to4 prevent stoppage of the compressor or damage to the parts.`

W hile I have particularly referred to and illustrated my invention in an embodiment suitable for use in a compressorof the general type disclosed in said application Serial No. 552,511, I do not thereby desire or intend to specifically limit the use of they invention to compressors of that type as it is applicable to'other forms of compressors as well as to pumps and other forms of machinery, no1` do I desire to confine myself solely to the precise construction and arrangementof parts herein described as the same may be readily modified in various particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention.v l claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

l. In a compressor, the combination of an internally cored cylinder block7 a cylinder sleeve having a plurality of ports communieating with the cored space within the block, and a groove in its inner wall spaced above said ports and forming an exhaust port, means for rigidly securing` the sleeve within the block, aI cylinder head having a portion extending into the sleeve, and a piston slidable in the sleeve and having a guide skirt adapted to enter the space between the head and the sleeve saidskirt being provided with a plurality of ports positioned to register with said first mentionelports when the piston is atthe extremity of its travel in one ldirection and with said groove when the piston is at the endof its travel in the-other direction, y

2.' In a compres-sor, the combination of a cylinder block having an internal chamber. a cylinder sleeve disposed in the block and extending beyondthe end thereof, said sleeve being provided with a plurality of inlet ports communicating with saidv chamberand a groove in its inner `wall and spaced from said ports, a cylinder head adapted to close an end of the sleeve and having a portion extending into the sleeve and spaced therefrom, and a pistonslidable in said sleeve and having a guide skirt projecting beyondits head and adapted to enter the space between the cylinder head and the sleeve and a plurality of ports in said skirt operative to register with said first mentioned ports when the pis'- ton is ait-the limit of its movement in one di rection and to register with said groove when the piston is at the limit of its movement in the other direction. i i

8. In a compressor, the combination of, a cylinder block having an internally cored space and ports extending into said space, a cylinder sleeve operativelyl secured 1n said lOl) lll)

'lessees ing provided with a plurality of inlet portsy communicating with said space and extending through its Wall and a groove in its Wall spaced from saidv ports and forming en exhaust passage, a Cylinder head adapted to close one end of said sleeve and having a portion extending into the sleeverand spaced from the Wall thereof, a piston having a head and skirts extending in opposite directions therefrom, one of said skirts being adapted to enter the space between the head and the sleeve and substantially fill the same when the piston is at one end of its stroke, said skirt being provided With eplu rality ofports adapted to register with said first mentioned ports When said piston is at the opposite end of its stroke and to register With said groove when it is at seid first nientioned end. In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of June, 1922.

lJOSEPH R. THOMAS. 

